Prison memoir by life convict Selvam wins Iyal Award in Canada

Life convict C. Selvam's memoir, Oru Thooku Kaithiyin Vaakumoolam (Testimony of a Death Warrant Prisoner), has been selected for the Iyal Award for non-fiction by the Canada-based Tamil Literary Garden. Selvam, who has been in prison for 32 years, is believed to be the first serving prisoner to receive this honour.

“I consider it an award for my reading. I could not study beyond Class 9, and reading sustained me in prison all these years,” Selvam said, reacting to the news from Vellore prison, where he is currently lodged and is out on parole. A native of Thenthamaraikulam in Kanniyakumari district, Selvam counts Sundara Ramasamy, S. Ramakrishnan, Nanjil Nadan and Jayamohan among his favourite authors.

Selvam and his associates surrendered before a court in Nagercoil in connection with a murder in 1994. Though he and his friends Radhakrishnan and Shiekmeeran were awarded the death sentence, it was later commuted to life imprisonment by the President, on the condition that they spend the rest of their lives in prison.

In prison, Selvam began reading voraciously, and his memoir was released in December 2025. The book was made possible by Badri Seshadri of Kizhakku Pathippagam, who met Selvam during a chance encounter at Tiruchi jail, where the latter was lodged in connection with alleged remarks against the judiciary. Justice K. Chandru wrote the foreword to the book.

The book, which goes beyond conventional crime narratives, strongly advocates prison reforms and truthfully records life behind bars. Justice Chandru said he decided to write the foreword because Selvam had written the truth. Mr. Seshadri noted that the book was likely to win more awards as it had touched people across multiple domains, including the legal fraternity. “It has made a significant impact on legal professionals, including judges,” he said.

Selvam also received a congratulatory message from noted Sri Lankan writer A. Muthulingam, who lives in Canada. The award carries 1,000 Canadian dollars.

In a press release, the Tamil Literary Garden announced that the Lifetime Achievement Award would go to Trotsky Marudhu, the fiction award to Thirusenthalai, the non-fiction award to Selvam and Sankar Saravanan, the poetry award to Karunakaran, and the translation award to Geetha Sukumaran. The organisers have asked Selvam to depute a representative to collect the award on his behalf.